I never used to eat breakfast while I was going to school or working outside the house. I gulped down Starbucks coffee after coffee and by 11 am my stomach’s growl was louder than my coworker’s chit chat. I was of the notion that skipping breakfast would somehow make me healthier and skinnier.

I imagine that idea comes from the fact that breakfast is usually thought of as this super heavy meal. In the United States breakfast is portrayed as greasy bacon filled waffles or biscuit sandwiches, with maple syrup drizzled all over. There’s just an overall satisfying and filling element to breakfast here.

Fear of being overly bloated and also a lack of time contributed to my no-breakfast schedule. The whole no-breakfast way of life worked well for me…in my early twenties. But in my late twenties I began to notice it didn’t matter that I skipped breakfast; I was gaining weight anyway.

That’s because as we age our metabolism generally decreases. What is metabolism? Metabolism is the process of your body converting what you eat and drink into energy. And the higher your metabolism, the faster your food is burned off as energy. That’s why you see a lot of young people eating cheeseburgers and downing 1,000 calorie milkshakes and appearing to lose weight.

When I delved deeper into the positive aspects of eating breakfast, I found that I had been eating wrong my entire adolescence. The late night meals and snacks that once had burned off in my early twenties by simply breathing, had turned into a spare tire around my waist. And I realized that I needed to stop the nighttime eating, and start implementing breakfast.

Breakfast is considered a very important meal because it breaks the fasting period between bedtime and morning, and kick starts your metabolism. Breakfast should provide you with essential vitamins and nutrients you need to go on with your day. So in essence what you eat in the morning should be packed with nutrients and rich in vitamins. No, eating a waffle sandwich with bacon, eggs, cheese, and dripping oil isn’t going to help you get healthy or lose weight, it’ll do the opposite.

That’s where the Paleolithic diet comes into play. The Paleolithic, or paleo, diet is a diet consisting of foods we may believe the first humans to have eaten. Things like meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, and nuts are examples of foods that are acceptable on the paleo diet. The idea is to cut out processed foods, grains and gluten, and let me tell you the results of weight loss and overall health improvements are astounding.

I lost a total of 50 pounds while adhering to the paleo diet. But when you first start eliminating bread, oatmeal, grains, and rice from your diet, it can be challenging to find things to eat for breakfast. The good news is you can stick to the paleo diet and enjoy amazing breakfast. I want to share 3 awesome paleo breakfast ideas with you to help kick start your day!

1. Paleo Breakfast Stacks

You can still have sandwiches, just without the bread!

What You Need (for 5 stacks)

5 Sausage breakfast patties

2 avocados

5 eggs

1 bell pepper

1 tomato

1 tsp coconut oil

Cook the sausage patties as per instructions on the packaging. Place on a plate. Slice a bell pepper into rings. Heat 1 tsp coconut oil in skillet and add bell pepper ring. Crack the egg into the bell pepper ring. This will help the egg keep its shape. Cook egg for about 3 minutes or until cooked through.

Use a spatula and stack the bell pepper and egg on top of the sausage patty. Slice the avocado and add on top. Finish off with tomato slice. And there you have it!

2. Breakfast Egg & Veggie Tacos

On the paleo diet you can have sandwiches, and tacos?! Yep!

What You Need:

1 large egg

Handful cherry tomatoes (halves)

1 small cucumber (chopped)

1 tbsp cilantro (chopped)

1 tsp coconut oil

In a bowl, whisk one large egg. Heat up 1 tsp coconut oil in a pan. Pour the egg into the pan and cook one side, then flip it and cook the other side. The result is a thin egg crepe!

Chop the cucumber, cilantro, and halve the cherry tomatoes. Fill your egg taco with these fresh veggies and take a bite!

3. Paleo Sausage Egg Muffins

Enjoy these sausage egg muffins next to fresh fruit, or by themselves drizzled with some hot sauce. Either way, they won’t disappoint and they’re so easy to make.

What You Need:

5 eggs

1/2 lb Italian sausage

1/4 cup chives (chopped)

1/4 cup kale (chopped)

1/2 cup mushrooms (sliced)

2 tsp coconut oil

Heat up coconut oil in a skillet and add Italian sausage. Brown the sausage. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a muffin tin.

Whisk eggs in a bowl, and add the chives, kale, and mushrooms. Finally add the sausage into the egg mixture and fill muffin tins 3/4 of the way up. Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

If you’re looking for more paleo inspiration, check out 10 Yummy Paleo Recipes For Beginners , 5 Tasty Paleo Summer Salads To Try Now , and 5 Easy Paleo Chicken Recipes.

Being on the paleo diet may present certain challenges when you first start. But there are endless possibilities for paleo recipes and you just have to get creative!